Staying Organized: Cleaning and Organization Schedule

I am just loving all your Organize your Life link ups!!!  They are so  inspiring to me!  I am going to start featuring your posts to give others motivation! :) 

This week,  I want you all to meet Erin…

…from the blog Just a Day in the Life of this Mommy!

She is a wife and mommy to three young children. She works full time outside of the home and is always looking for ways to streamline her home life, organize and make life easier and simpler.  She loves cleaning cooking, reading, and looking for new ways to perfect her organization and simple way of living! She believes that the easier and simpler you can make your life, the more time you have to spend doing the things you love with the one's you love!  Great motto!  And that is why I thought you would like to read this post!  :)  I LOVE reading other’s schedules and I will be featuring more soon!  Keep up the good work ladies!!!  She is a Shaklee distributor and I really love her posts!  Check her out!

Here is Erin’s post that she wrote about her Cleaning and Organizing Schedule!  I just LOVE it! :)

Staying Organized: Cleaning and Organization Schedule

I think it is so important to get control of your life and stay organized. I got sick in December and it was a pretty awful time for my family. They were without the person that kept them together and kept things running. Not to mention stressed and scared. My husband stepped right in but he was very stressed too about me being so sick. And he also works full time like I do AND he goes to school full time. He is my rock. Thankfully I was pretty organized so we weren't too bad off and it didn't take too much to get back on track again when I did get better. And I think I did get better faster because I had a less stressful environment. So I think it is so important to have a schedule and try and stick with it. I think it is important to modify it to fit your family's needs. I could never stick with a generic schedule because my schedule is so wacky with me working the night shift. You might have to write out a schedule, try it out and modify it after a few days or a week if cetain things don't work for you. Here are the things I do.

Stay 10 steps ahead of the game. I try to think ahead and plan ahead as much as possible.

-lay out things dinner for the next day, always check your menu's, are you making menu's?

-lay out outfits for the next day

-have backpacks unpacked, re-packed and ready

-have your purse organized

-are your bills caught up and paid?

-I lay out my uniform/work bag/lunch bag and have them all ready

Declutter daily

-I think when you don't keep up on your clutter it is a big mistake. It can really build up fast. Sometimes on my way back from the mailbox, I stop right by the recycle bin and throw in junk mail and magazines and catalogs I don't need/want. I don't want them in my house! My counter space is so limited. If it isn't in your house, it can't clutter it up! Get rid of it as it comes in!

-keep toys in their home. If I find piles of the boy's or Audrey's toys I put them on the stairs then when they are going up next they know to take them up to their room.

-this spring I have been going through my house room by room and decluttering. I have been putting stuff together for a yardsale pile and getting rid of things at the goodwill. I also get rid of trash!

Get all of your medication and vitamins ready for the next day. I get mine ready for a week at a time.


I take the Vitalizer strips with Iron and the Nutriferon. Since I got so sick in December my immune system was shot and the Nutriferon has really helped me feel so much better.

I keep them in my purse because I have to take my seizure/migraine medications twice a day and I don't want can't forget them. I keep them in a ziplock because sometimes my pill organizer opens up and spills in my purse and I don't want to waste or lose medication and waste money. I also be sure to keep my purse locked up in my pantry because I don't want Audrey playing in it and risk her ingesting any of my medications or vitamins.

Do at least One Load of Laundry a Day

Keeping up with laundry for five people is tough. I have been doing really good at doing one load a day. I wash and dry it and take it upstairs and I fold it on my bed, then I put it away. I have a VERY bad habit of letting clean baskets of laundry pile up in my room and I hate that. I have a goal to get it done and put away as fast as possible. I try to start my work weekend with ALL of the laundry caught up and put away. My husband is really good at helping out and keeping up with the laundry but he has a tough time putting it away because we fold it in my room and I am sleeping in there during the day on the weekends because I work nights. So having it caught up as much as possible is a good stress reliever. And to be honest, we all don't have that much clothes. We don't have any walk in closets and we try to keep things to a minimum because we don't have a lot of closet space. I use the Shaklee Fresh Laundry soap and I LOVE it! I also really love the Get Clean Nature Bright! It is so good at getting stains out and my kids are so hard on clothes! I used to swear by Tide because it was great at getting stains out but it is super expensive and not good for you! I love that Shaklee is non-toxic and totally safe for you! I also do our bed linens once a week. I do mine and Audrey's on my weekend off. I do the boy's bed linens on the weekends that I work. HERE is a post about my laundry!

Vacuum every day.

Actually my boys do. It is one of their chores. They don't do a perfect job but it is a big help! Having the floors vacuumed can make your house feel so much better. I vacuum myself very thoroughly throughout the house on Thursday's and any other time it really needs it. I also do the basement too! It is unfinished but the dust settles down there and I like to keep it clean and dust free as much as possible. I also do the stairs really good too. I am also trying to be better at sweeping my kitchen floor. I am trying to do this once a day to keep up with the dirt and grime. Not easy with a dog! :) I am going to shampoo my carpets here soon with the Basic H2 and theNature Bright.  I will have to let you know how that goes.

I do my grocery shopping and plan ahead for the week and weekend
Every two weeks on Thursdays it is the beginning of my work week since I work every other weekend. I guess this is like preparing for the week ahead for you other working Mom's or your weekend off with your family for stay at home Mom's. I do my shopping and make sure my fridge is full of yummy and healthy snacks and milk for my kids and husband so they can eat and not have to worry about that. I like to shop weekly for fresh fruit and veggies and stuff we need. I like to keep grapes in the fridge for the kids to grab.

Bananas are a staple! Audrey eats one every single day and they are her favorite. We can easily go through about 3-4 big bunches a week. I try to make sure we have plenty for my weekends I work.

I found strawberries on sale so I stocked up! I still need to cut them up so they can easily scoop them up and eat them with meals as a side.

I picked up some fresh turkey and cheese so they can have sandwiches for lunches.

I don't have an ice maker in my fridge and I make a lot of iced coffees on the weekend I work so I make a lot of ice and get my ice box filled up for the weekend. Also every time I get ice out, I check it and make more. Someday I want an ice maker! :) Love what ya have! haha

Keep up on your dishes everyday!

I run my dishwasher at least once every single day. I use the Shaklee Dish Washer Automatic Concentrate. I can't stress how economical this product is. I used to burn through container after container of Cascade. I have barely made a DENT in the Shaklee Dishwasher soap. It really just takes a little bit! This has saved me a TON! I am guessing that one container of this is going to last me over 6-7 weeks. I can't say for sure because I haven't had to replace it yet but it is such great quality! I also use the Dish washer soap to wash pots and pans as I cook and keep dishes caught up/loaded in the dishwasher. I like to clean as I cook so that after dinner we don't have a huge mess to clean up. If I clean as I go, that means more family time! HERE is how I cleaned and organized my kitchen.

I sanitize my sinks with the Basic G everyday. I think this really makes a big difference. Having a clean sink really makes your kitchen feel better. That fly lady really knew what she was talking about! :) I scrub my sink out once or twice a week with the Heavy Duty Scour off. It does a great job and really keeps my sink looking great. I also wipe down my counters, table and stovetop with the Basic H2.

Keep up on your Bathrooms

I keep up on my bathrooms. Ethan's chore is to empty the bathroom trash everyday and Kameron helps keep the counters wiped down. I do the toilets. I like to make sure they are done good. Kameron wipes down the sinks with the Basic G. It is nice to have safe products that are non-toxic and that my kids can help me clean. I also vacuum my bathrooms. They are so tiny so I just vacuum them. Its easier to keep them dusted and keep the hair vacuumed up. I also don't mop them, I just wipe the floors down with the Basic G.  My bathroom floors are smaller than some peoples kitchen counters. That is sad but good for me to have a smaller space to clean I guess! :) Love what you have! :) I also spray down my bathroom shower stall and tub with the Basic H2. I also can't stand to have yucky trash cans so I soak them in the Basic G to sanitize them if they get yucky. I use target bags as trash bags, free and keeps the trash cans clean! I showed you HERE how I spring cleaned and organized my bathroom.

Dust!

I think dusting is my least favorite chore ever. Other than bathrooms. Bathrooms aren't so bad for me now that we use Shaklee but dusting still stinks! I use this little pledge swiffer thing that I bought. I got it just about free with a coupon about two years ago. Then they want you to buy really expensive and non-environmentally friendly refills to put on the top of it and I just think it is such a waste of money! I found this washable topper at a craft fair last year for I think $4. It is pretty filthy in the picture. I had just dusted my ceiling fans! :) I use it every week and wash it. I like it because Audrey likes to dust and it is small and she can use it! She loves to dust all around the living room.

STOCK your house!

-I try to keep my house stocked up on all of our necessities. I keep our dog food container stocked up in the pantry (I keep the huge tote full of dog food in the garage).

-I check the bathrooms to see if we need toilet paper. Not fun to run out of that!

-Make grocery lists! Don't run short on what you need for dinner!

-I check hygiene items and make sure we have plenty of what we need. I also check to see if razors need replaced.

-I also "shop" in my basement. I check to see if we need more cereal (I store extra down there) or oatmeal.

-I also take a mental inventory of my deep freeze and make sure my menu's are using up what we have

-I check dates on things and use up what is going to expire.

-I also make sure my menu's are caught up for a few weeks

 

Wasn’t that GREAT?

 

She showed how she cleaned and organized EVERYTHING in her whole kitchen.  She makes me want to go clean right now…seriously…Erin, can you do mine next?  Great job girl! :)

She showed us how she cleans and organizes her bathroom! :)  We could all read this post!

She showed us how she spring cleaned her daughter’s room…

and her son’s room.

She even grossed me out with the most disgusting post you will ever read.

She showed how she makes homemade baby food!  YAY for homemade!!!!  You go girl!  :)

After all that cleaning and organizing and baby food making, she shows her secret Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.  Yum!!!!

Please go check her out and follow this gal!  She works hard, please comment and let her know it! :)

I will be featuring more of your posts!  If you would like to be featured, just email me and let me know!

I will make a button soon.

Have a great day!!!!

Also, don’t forget that you can get a FREE SHAKEE CINCH SAMPLER KIT (over $100 value) with the purchase of a Shaklee membership (a $19.95 one time fee to save you 15% off ALL orders including your first order) or ShakleeDistributorship ($39.95) AND a $70 order at member price (MN).  To get this special,  place the products in your cart, and then it will tell you that you qualify for the free Cinch Sampler Kit at the top.  After that, sign up as a member or distributor. You DO NOT need to place the sampler kit in your cart…it is automatic, just make sure to check if you qualify.   Please note, if you become a Gold Ambassador, you do not need to place an order to get the free kit.  Please email me at donahuewellness@hotmail.com for any questions.  ***Plus, I will let you know of ALL OF MY NEW MEMBER SPECIALS!!!***  You can read about my Cinch results here and my sister’s amazing story here.